Is my wine fermenting?

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

TomNotMeAtSix

Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
Hey guys, quick question.

Started my Vimto Wine at 9am yesterday (now 1pm the next day) and this is on the top of it? Is this the start of fermentation or have I done it wrong?

IMG_0671.jpg


IMG_0672.jpg


IMG_0673.jpg
 
Looks like it should to me. Take the lid off and listed for bubbles...It'll also smell a little yeasty at this point. give it a stir, oxygen is a good thing during primary. Leave the lid off and just cover w/ a cloth to keep bugs out. Transfer to secondary, top up, and airlock once the SG is about 1.010'ish.

Happy Brewing!!
 
Thanks, just got my first bubble! Getting roughly one every ten minutes or so. Going to take the lid off tomorrow and put a fresh, clean dish cloth over the top of it for a few hours or so :).
 
The only sure fire way to tell if your wine is fermenting is with a hydrometer, even though it appears to be fermenting, never guess, as with beer, use a hydrometer.

On a side note, if you have the top screwed on tight with no airlock, you need to put an airlock on it, or a piece of cloth over the opening.
The yeast needs oxygen while fermenting, once it is done fermenting, you need to rack the wine into a smaller container or carboy, that much head space will cause the wine to spoil.
I hope that this helps!
 
This is the smallest container i've got for it :(. As it stands now I took the lid off for approx 5 hours with a damp cloth placed over the top and held in place with a elastic band. I then replaced the lid and put an airlock on and the bubbles came acoming. I get one roughly every 5 minutes or so (very slow). I have a hydro meter but my testing thingy broke so a new one is on order, once that comes and I can see when fermentation has stopped I'll be re racking (to lose lees) for one month, with a closed lid (no airlock) and I will then bottle, and leave for a few months :D.
 
TomNotMeAtSix said:
This is the smallest container i've got for it :(. As it stands now I took the lid off for approx 5 hours with a damp cloth placed over the top and held in place with a elastic band. I then replaced the lid and put an airlock on and the bubbles came acoming. I get one roughly every 5 minutes or so (very slow). I have a hydro meter but my testing thingy broke so a new one is on order, once that comes and I can see when fermentation has stopped I'll be re racking (to lose lees) for one month, with a closed lid (no airlock) and I will then bottle, and leave for a few months :D.
Click to expand...

Keep it under airlock until it's bottled. You don't want a closed lid, as the wine "holds" onto co2 a bit, even after fermentation, and changes in weather and/or barometic pressure can create some bubbles. Most people use an airlock even in bulk aging, unless the wine has been clear and stable for months and months! In other words, you want let the pressure to go out if it builds in your fermenter- so that the wine degasses for one, and so the container doesn't blow up.
 
I agree with Yopper, keep an airlock on it.
Don't worry about the activity in the airlock, it isn't always an indication of fermentation, furthermore, a slow fermentation if better for the wine in most cases.
 

Similar threads

C
Plum wine recipe and questions.
Replies
1
Views
432
lumpher
lumpher
T
How to fix a bottling/lees newbie mistake
Replies
13
Views
789
Elk479
Elk479
A
Primo Bottles for Wine Aging
Replies
31
Views
1K
whoaru99
W
YorkeBrewer
Stopping unwanted fermentation
Replies
3
Views
589
Johnny2
J
Mallerstang
Restarted stuck fermentation - what now?
Replies
4
Views
569
OakIslandBrewery
OakIslandBrewery
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top